On Eve of Transplant, Holan Hears Good News

Milos Holan’s difficult days have begun, and as the hour of his bone marrow transplant approaches, Holan and his wife, Irena, are hoping for a new life for him--and a new life in their family.

Holan’s agent, Rich Winter, said the couple are expecting a second child, calling it “a blessing” because the radiation and chemotherapy that precede a marrow transplant often lead to infertility later.

“She knows she has a little baby growing within her,” Winter said. “We were talking, Milos and I, and he said he hopes to be back on skates very soon, even if it’s only with his two kids. But who knows? Maybe he will come back stronger.”

The Holans have a daughter, Veronica, 5, who is staying with grandparents in the Czech Republic.

Winter spoke with Irena Holan on Monday, the morning before today’s tentatively scheduled transplant procedure.

“She’s a little down; Milos is very sick from the chemotherapy right now,” Winter said. “He’s been such an absolute superstar through this whole thing, finding humor in all the little things. I asked Irena if I should come down now and she said no, no, he just wants to do the throwing up and get through it. They want to go through it without any visits right now.”

Holan, found to have leukemia in September, played 16 games for the Mighty Ducks before beginning preparations for a transplant after a marrow donor was found last month. A spokesman for the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte said Holan’s transplant appeared to be on schedule, but told a team spokesman it could be any day this week.

“It’s tough, especially to see your knight in shining armor, a great athlete, someone who’s always been such a physical specimen, go through that,” Winter said. “Milos and Irena are good people, and they’re determined that this will make them better people. It’s a sobering reminder, a very helpful reminder to all of us how precious life is.”